Program Design

Courses are taught online and students may begin the graduate certificate program in the fall, spring or summer terms.

Required Courses and Suggested Sequence

Veteran Services and Public Policy (3 credits)

This course provides a holistic overview of the policy framework within which federal, state, community-based and other veterans’ services are offered. Following an exploration of the figure of the warrior in society and culture, students will examine the evolution of public policy concerning veterans, critique current gaps and problems in the system and develop an understanding of how policy frameworks and service delivery interface.

The course includes:

historical perspective on veterans’ issues and public policy

consideration of the need for continued advocacy regarding new policies, benefits and technologies.

Veteran Outreach, Services and Advocacy (3 credits)

This course provides grounding in the psychosocial landscape within which veterans’ services are offered and within the broad context of the experience of war and the challenge of coming home. The course identifies the challenges facing returning veterans, including reintegrating into the community, reconnecting with family, reorienting to the less-structured character of civilian life and, in some cases, adjusting to life with a disability. Special attention is paid to:

the family system and challenges facing the families of veterans

the effects of multiple and extended deployments

specific issues facing women veterans

generational differences among veterans

veterans as they age.

Finally, the course identifies strategies for reaching out to veterans, explores existing models for such outreach and service delivery and addresses the question of how to advocate for veterans across multiple communities and multiple political and social perspectives.

Students gain experience in identifying the benefits available to specific veterans and groups of veterans, explore issues of access and eligibility and consider both the functional and the challenging aspects of the system of benefits.

Military culture is mediated by multiple factors, among them branch, rank, generation, race, gender and sexuality, and the course has been designed to develop awareness of how those factors determine the experience of individuals in the military and, subsequently, with the veteran community. Specific issues of current importance include the differences made by multiple deployment and higher survival rates in America’s current wars, the changing role of women in the military, the cultural and command changes involved in responding to military sexual assault and the end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Topics include:

reasons for enlisting in the military

effects of military training

formal and informal military structures

military hierarchy

military terminology

active-duty military and veterans in work and educational environments

effects of military service on later life.

Admission and Advisement

Admission to the certificate program requires the applicant to submit an official transcript of his or her bachelor’s degree along with a completed application. Advising will be provided by the certificate coordinator, Dr. Lynette Nickleberry.

While the 12 credits are fully transferable into the M.A. in social and public policy program, acceptance will require candidates to apply to the master’s degree program and complete the full admission process. Completion of the graduate certificate does not guarantee admission to the master’s degree program.

Advanced certificates may be incorporated into a related master's degree for those meeting the program admission requirements.